Trump expresses support for in vitro fertilization
Statement comes in wake of Ala. high court decision that grants embryos personhood
Former President Donald Trump and Republican candidates in key Senate races voiced support for in vitro fertilization treatment Friday, distancing themselves from a recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling that has again highlighted the electoral challenge Republicans face over their stances on abortion and other reproductive rights.
“Under my leadership, the Republican Party will always support the creation of strong, thriving, healthy American families. We want to make it easier for mothers and fathers to have babies, not harder! That includes supporting the availability of fertility treatments like IVF in every State in America,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Like the OVERWHELMING MAJORITY of Americans, including the VAST MAJORITY of Republicans, Conservatives, Christians, and Pro-Life Americans, I strongly support the availability of IVF for couples who are trying to have a precious baby.”
Alabama’s court decision ruled frozen embryos should be considered children, and people can be held liable for destroying them. In his social media post, Trump subsequently called on the Alabama state legislature “to act quickly to find an immediate solution to preserve the availability of IVF in Alabama.”
Most of the expressions of support for IVF came after the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the national group tasked with electing Republicans to the Senate, urged its candidates on the ballot this year to support in vitro fertilization and reject government restrictions.
The shift underscored the precarious line GOP candidates are walking when it comes to discussing reproductive rights following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling nearly two years ago that declared a constitutional right to abortion no longer exists.
Since the high court’s decision in 2022, Republicans across the board have struggled to find a winning strategy to address abortion. Last November, abortion rights played a role in a string of Republican losses across the country and voters have rejected every opportunity to limit abortion care in several referendums — including in red states. Some Republicans in Congress, meanwhile, have continued to push for a federal abortion ban.
Initially, last Friday’s ruling from Alabama was largely met with silence from Republican officeholders and candidates. But more GOP politicians at all levels have since sought to distance themselves from it and embrace IVF procedures, which have been utilized in soaring numbers by families of all political affiliations in the U.S. over the past decade.
Much of the Republican Party for years has embraced the argument that life begins at conception, making that a cornerstone of their opposition to abortion. But the decision in Alabama injected an urgency to the debate that had been otherwise on the back burner.
“When responding to the Alabama Supreme Court ruling, it is imperative that our candidates align with the public’s overwhelming support for IVF and fertility treatments,” NRSC Executive Director Jason Thielman wrote in a memo to “Senate Candidates” dated Friday.